In 1998 Figeľ left his parliamentary seat and was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. Unlike most of his colleagues in the European
Commission, he never rose to a cabinet-level position, but led
Slovakia's accession negotiations with the European Union
until 2003. He also represented the Slovak government in the European
Convention which drafted the European Constitution. He returned to the
National Council in 2002 where he chaired its Foreign Affairs
Committee, stepping down in 2004 to take up his Commission
post.

European
Commission

Figeľ served briefly in the Prodi Commission. From Slovakia's
accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004 to the confirmation
of the Barroso Commission later that year
he jointly held the Enterprise and Information Society portfolio,
sharing his role for most of that period with the Finnish appointee Olli Rehn, also new to the
job. The Slovak government nominated Figeľ for the incoming Barroso
Commission which took office on 22 November 2004. His appointment
to the Education, Training, Culture and
Multilingualism portfolio was regarded as something of a
disappointment. Figeľ himself said that the role was not his
"primary choice", but he accepted it "as a challenge".

Selection
hearing

Questioned by the European Parliament, Figeľ said
that the goal of a true European labour market would require more
investment in education, professional training, mobility, and
simpler Europe-wide acknowledgment of qualifications. He said that
the promotion of education was vital to the aims set out in the Lisbon
Strategy.

He told MEPs that he would
like all children in the EU to be taught at least two foreign
languages at school, and also stressed his support for UNESCO.

Following his hearing Figeľ received broad but not especially
enthusiastic support from MEPs, with the PES describing his
performance as "basically satisfactory" and "enough to give him our
support", but criticising him for "not distancing himself from the
Conservative Christian position as the only cultural
tradition."

Figeľ announced his resignation from the Commission on 21
September 2009, following his election as the leader of Christian
Democratic Movement in Slovakia. He was replaced by Maroš Šefčovič on 1 October 2009.